Asparagus
If you like asparagus make a place for it in your garden. As a perennial it makes a great foundation planting and grows successfully in most of the country. Plant from roots purchased by mail or local nurseries in early spring. Buy two year old roots.
Dig a trench eight to twelve inches deep at least twelve inches wide with good drainage. Place a layer of a 50/50 mixture of Nature's Guide Organic Compost and native soil about two inches deep in the bottom. Lay out the roots with the crowns on twelve inch centers spreading the roots like the legs of a spider in a circular fashion.
Fill the trench to within an inch of the surface with a mixture the native soil and Nature's Guide Lava Sand and water thoroughly.
Cover the remaining surface with three inches of Nature's Guide Organic Compost, Nature's Guide Cotton Burr Compost, or Nature's Guide Mushroom Compost. As this layer breaks down and settles add more compost to keep a layer that stands three inches above the surface.
Do not harvest anything the first year. As spears begin to emerge they grow a beautiful fine green fern-like plant that reaches over three tall. The compost will make surface weeding effortless.
After frost kills the top growth, cut it back to ground level. Make an application of Nature's Guide Premium Turf Food or Nature's Guide Natural Turf Food at the rate of one half pound per row foot in early spring and cover with more compost.
The second year harvest spears larger in diameter than your little finger and let the smaller ones continue to grow. Each year the harvest will be larger. To harvest cut the spears with a sharp knife about three to four inches below the surface. The compost makes harvesting a breeze.
Asparagus roots and crown
Summer asparagus foliage
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